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Vietnam detains blogger for 'bad' content
Reuters – 14 hours ago..
HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnamese police have detained a
blogger for posting "bad content" about the state, the latest move in
a crackdown on dissent that has been condemned by rights groups and Western
governments.
Hong Le Tho, 65, was detained for "posting online
articles with bad content and false information that discredit and create distrust
among people about state agencies, social agencies and citizens," the
Ministry of Public Security said on Saturday on its website.
The case follows a sharp increase in arrests and prison
terms for government critics in the past few years that has alarmed the United
States, a former enemy that is struggling to build a case for deeper trade ties
with a country steadfast in its intolerance of dissent.
The detention of Tho, better known as blogger "Nguoi
Lot Gach", came a month after Vietnam released jailed blogger Nguyen Van
Hai, who staged a hu…

Justices weigh limits of free speech over Internet
Nov 30, 8:11 AM (ET)
By SAM HANANEL
WASHINGTON (AP) — Anthony Elonis claimed he was just
kidding when he posted a series of graphically violent rap lyrics on Facebook
about killing his estranged wife, shooting up a kindergarten class and
attacking an FBI agent.
But his wife didn't see it that way. Neither did a
federal jury.
Elonis, who's from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was convicted
of violating a federal law that makes it a crime to threaten another person.
In a far-reaching case that probes the limits of free
speech over the Internet, the Supreme Court on Monday was to consider whether
Elonis' Facebook posts, and others like it, deserve protection under the First
Amendment.
Elonis argues that his lyrics were simply a crude and
spontaneous form of expression that should not be considered threatening if he
did not really mean it. The government says it does not matter what Elonis
intended, and that the true test of a threa…

Amazon Fire TV vs Roku vs Google Chromecast vs Apple TV:
Best Holiday Streamer
Summary: If you’re shopping for a streamer this holiday
season, then you have plenty of options. But, which is the best service, offers
the biggest lineup, and is most-affordable?
By Josh Durso | On November 29, 2014
The holiday season means fighting crowds, shopping
online, buying gifts that no one is entirely sure about, followed by a period
of frantic returns. Streamers are a great for college students, young adults
just starting out, and even those just looking for an alternative to
traditional cable options. We’ve evaluated the four big names in streaming
devices, and here is a point-by-point comparison that will help you find the
right one for a gift this holiday season.
Amazon Fire TV
This is a service that Amazon is definitely serious about
growing. The interface, setup process, and execution of finding content – is
amongst the simplest of all streaming TV choices. It’s small but has an
impressive…

"Body recognition" compares with fingerprint ID
November 27, 2014
(Medical Xpress)—University of Adelaide forensic anatomy
researchers are making advances in the use of "body recognition" for
criminal and missing persons cases, to help with identification when a face is
not clearly shown.
PhD student Teghan Lucas is studying a range of human
anatomical features and body measurements that can help to identify a person,
such as from closed circuit television (CCTV) security videos, no matter what
clothing the person may be wearing.
"There's been a lot of work conducted over the years
on facial recognition. This makes sense – humans have evolved to recognise
faces, which is part of our survival mechanism, and the face contains some very
distinctive features. But what happens if the face is not shown, or if there is
an unusual facial resemblance between two people? What happens if
identification of the face alone just isn't enough?" Ms Lucas says.
&q…

Netflix CEO: Broadcast TV Will Be Dead By 2030
Nielsen Ratings are going to finally factor in Netflix
traffic. Reed Hastings thinks it's too little, too late.
By Jack Smith IV 11/28 11:15am
If you checked Nielsen Ratings, you’d think that the only
people watching TV were age 54 and older (and you’d be right), and that
Millennials are a black hole of immeasurable Internet content consumption—that
is, until Nielsen starts measuring Netflix traffic next month.
But what does Netflix CEO Reed Hastings think about
Nielsen’s bold step forward? Earlier this week, in Mexico City, he said that
it’s “not very relevant” either way, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
For Nielsen, this might look like modernization, but for
those of us ready to enter 2015, it’s more like a move from the Mesozoic to the
Paleozoic Era.
“It’s kind of like the horse, you know, the horse was
good until we had the car,” Mr. Hastings said. “The age of broadcast TV will probably
last until 2030.”
The trouble is how …

European lawmakers back Google break-up
AFP By Alex Pigman 22 hours ago
Brussels (AFP) - The European Parliament voted
overwhelmingly for the break-up of Google on Thursday in a largely symbolic
vote that nevertheless cast another blow in the four-year standoff between
Brussels and the US Internet giant.
In a direct challenge to Google, MEPs assembled in
Strasbourg approved a resolution calling on the EU to consider ordering search
engines to separate their commercial services from their businesses.
While Google is not directly mentioned in the proposal, the
California-based search engine is clearly the target. The resolution passed
with 384 in favour and only 174 votes against.
The European Parliament has no power to launch the
break-up of Google, but the move, introduced by two senior lawmakers, is a further
indication that the mood towards the company in Europe has soured.
Contacted by AFP, a spokesman for Google in Brussels said
the company had no comment to make.
Google has beco…

Global websites hacked by Syrian Electronic Army
Katrina Bishop Arjun Kharpal
7 Hours Ago CNBC.com
A number of websites – including CNBC and other media
organizations - were targeted by the Syrian Electronic Army on Thursday.
Screenshots posted on Twitter showed an error message on
a number websites that read: "You've been hacked by the Syrian Electronic
Army (SEA)". The SEA logo – of an eagle and a version of the Syrian flag -
appeared on other sites.
Companies including Dell, Microsoft, Ferrari and
humanitarian organization Unicef were among those targeted, according to
screenshots on Twitter and a website claiming to be form the SEA. Media
organizations such as Forbes, The Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, The Telegraph
and Italy's La Repubblica were also affected. The error message appeared to
some users of CNBC.com.
Gigya, a customer management platform used by over 700
leading brands, was identified as one cause of the issue. In a statement
published in its w…

Flying robots to start serving in restaurants by end-2015
By Robin Choo
POSTED: 27 Nov 2014 14:57
UPDATED: 27 Nov 2014 23:46
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong observes a smart flying
robotic waiter serving food during a demonstration on Oct 7, 2014. (Photo:
TODAY/Ooi Boon Keong)
SINGAPORE: Restaurant-goers in Singapore can expect to be
served by autonomous flying robots – the world’s first commercial attempt – by
the end of next year.
Infinium-Serve, the autonomous flying robotic waiters,
will be first launched at one of Timbre Group’s five outlets in Singapore.
Infinium Robotics CEO Woon Junyang estimated the project to cost a “low
seven-figure sum” for the five outlets, subject to final negotiations and
certain variables of the actual deployment of the robots.
Infinium Robotics signed a Memorandum of Understanding
with Timbre Group on Oct 31. Both companies are seeking productivity-related
government grants to help offset deployment costs.
Mr Woon said he is confident that such robo…

PC confusion likely with Intel's quick jump to Skylake
By Agam Shah
IDG News Service | Sep 15, 2014 11:21 AM PT
Laptop and desktop buying decisions may get confusing in
2015 as Intel introduces PC chips based on two different architectures --
Broadwell and Skylake -- in the same year, something the chip maker rarely
does.
Mainstream PCs with chips based on the Broadwell
architecture -- Intel's fifth-generation Core processors -- will ship in the
first quarter next year. But in the second half next year, users will be able
to buy PCs with processors based on the newer Skylake architecture, which will bring
wire-free computing and significant performance upgrades.
Intel wants to bring the latest technology to buyers as
quickly as possible, and would like to close the curtain on Broadwell's
troubled existence. Mainstream PCs with Broadwell were expected this year, but
were delayed following manufacturing issues that delayed chip shipments.
Skylake chips will have the bigge…

Coming in 2015 from Intel: thumb-sized 'compute sticks'
The devices will plug into smart TVs and monitors
By Agam Shah
IDG News Service | Nov 20, 2014 1:40 PM PT
Intel is shrinking PCs to thumb-sized "compute
sticks" that will be out next year.
The stick will plug into the back of a smart TV or
monitor "and bring intelligence to that," said Kirk Skaugen, senior
vice president and general manager of the PC Client Group at Intel, during the
Intel investor conference in Santa Clara, Calif., which was webcast.
A device the size of a USB stick was shown on stage, but
its capabilities were not demonstrated. Skaugen said the devices will be an
extension to laptops and mini-desktops, which have Core desktop processors in
small PCs that can be handheld.
Skaugen likened the compute stick to similar thumb PCs
offered by PC makers with the Android OS and ARM processor. Dell's $129.99 Wyse
Cloud Connect -- which plugs into an HDMI port -- can turn a screen or dis…

Automakers Aim to Drive Away Car Computer Hackers
LOS ANGELES — Nov 24, 2014, 10:04 AM ET
By JUSTIN PRITCHARD Associated Press
Against the team of hackers, the poor car stood no
chance.
Meticulously overwhelming its computer networks, the
hackers showed that given time they would be able to pop the trunk and start
the windshield wipers, cut the brakes or lock them up, and even kill the
engine.
Their motives were not malicious. These hackers worked on
behalf of the U.S. military, which along with the auto industry is scrambling
to fortify the cyber defenses of commercially available cars before criminals
and even terrorists penetrate them.
"You're stepping into a rolling computer now,"
said Chris Valasek, who helped catapult car hacking into the public eye when he
and a partner revealed last year they had been able to control a 2010 Toyota
Prius and 2010 Ford Escape by plugging into a port used by mechanics.
These days, when Valasek isn't working his day job for a
c…

There are now 3 billion people on the internet — and
those in Denmark are best at it
By the end of 2014, there’ll be as many phone
subscriptions as people, report finds
By Andrew Griffin
Tuesday 25 November 2014
Denmark is the most connected place on the internet, as
the number of people getting online is quickly increasing, a UN report has
said.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the
branch of the UN that is tasked with looking at computer and telecommunications
use, has compiled its annual report looking at the world’s most connected
countries as well as the fast spread of internet use across the world.
Denmark came first in the ITU’s ICT Development Index, an
annual study of countries’ level of ICT access, use and skills. South Korea
came second, with most of the rest made up of European and high-income
countries.
The ITU praised other countries including the UAE, Fiji,
Cape Verde and Thailand for improving their ranking most over the last year.
By the end of 2…

Sony Paralyzed By Computer Hacker Attack With Ominous
Message
by Mike Fleming Jr
November 24, 2014 10:50am
UPDATE: While it seems that a world-leading tech company
would be the last to be brought down by a hacker, this Sony thing is serious.
I’ve come across a still photo of the hacked message that appeared on screens,
posted by a site called business2community.com. More when it comes in. SPE
spokesperson Jean Guerin said “We are investigating an IT matter.” Here’s the
still photo:
EXCLUSIVE: Things have come to a standstill at Sony
today, after the computers in New York and around the world were infiltrated by
a hacker. As a precaution, computers in Los Angeles were shut down while the
corporation deals with the breach. It has basically brought the whole global
corporation to an electronic standstill. I’d heard that this began with a skull
appearing on screens, and then a strangely ominous message telling users they’d
been hacked by something called #GOP. It gets more bizarre as th…

November 23, 2014 6:29 pm
World’s most advanced hacking spyware let loose
Sam Jones in Vienna and Hannah Kuchler in San Francisco
A cyber snooping operation reminiscent of the Stuxnet
worm and billed as the world’s most sophisticated computer malware is targeting
Russian and Saudi Arabian telecoms companies.
Cyber security company Symantec said the malware, called
“Regin”, is probably run by a western intelligence agency and in some respects
is more advanced in engineering terms than Stuxnet, which was developed by US
and Israel government hackers in 2010 to target the Iranian nuclear programme.
The discovery of the latest hacking software comes as the
head of Kaspersky Labs, the Russian company that helped uncover Stuxnet, told
the Financial Times that criminals are now also hacking industrial control
systems for financial gain.
Organised criminals tapping into the networks that run
industrial companies, alongside the development of the latest online snooping
worm, are signs of the …

8 ways Lollipop 5.0 reinvents Android
Enhanced security, improved architecture, extensive APIs
-- bold changes make Android 5.0 better for business
By Anndrew Vacca
InfoWorld | Nov 20, 2014
Android 5.0 Lollipop heralds a new era for the operating
system, one aimed at unifying the Android experience across devices and built
with business use squarely in mind. While iOS may have enjoyed early darling
status in the enterprise, expect business organizations to take Android much
more seriously going forward, thanks to a raft of significant improvements, an
extensive set of new developer APIs, and clear signals that Google intends to
lead the Android ecosystem more intentionally than ever before.
Lollipop is in many ways a reimagining of what Android
can be, and Google has rebuilt Android Lollipop from the ground up with the
future in mind. Injecting new support for faster and more efficient hardware,
Google has laid a strong foundation for developers and device makers to take
the platfo…

N.S.A. Devises Radio Pathway Into Computers
By DAVID E. SANGER and THOM SHANKER JAN. 14, 2014
WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency has implanted
software in nearly 100,000 computers around the world that allows the United
States to conduct surveillance on those machines and can also create a digital
highway for launching cyberattacks.
While most of the software is inserted by gaining access
to computer networks, the N.S.A. has increasingly made use of a secret
technology that enables it to enter and alter data in computers even if they
are not connected to the Internet, according to N.S.A. documents, computer
experts and American officials.
The technology, which the agency has used since at least
2008, relies on a covert channel of radio waves that can be transmitted from
tiny circuit boards and USB cards inserted surreptitiously into the computers.
In some cases, they are sent to a briefcase-size relay station that
intelligence agencies can set up miles away from the target.
T…